It seems to be a de facto dream for a lot of people – the idea of running your own business. For some people, especially those who are born into families with strong business backgrounds, it is second nature. The thing about successful business ownership is that the influence, networking and experience can be passed on to your next of kin if it is well planned for. But what about the others? Those toiling away at their jobs thinking that the grass has to be greener on the other side – well is it really?
I consider these 3 requirements of being in the startup / business to make the decision worthwhile.
Basically, if you can’t say yes to these 3 items, you might want to look at doing something else.
1. The ability to say no
Now I am not talking about consent for things that go beyond work duties, I am talking about responsibilities at work which may not be what you enjoy or it may not follow your “moral compass”. The truth is, as a startup owner you will more likely still be working for others. The real benefit is if something does not sit right with you, there is complete control to be able to decline something or get someone else to do it. You don’t have to feel bad, exhibit escapism or begrudgingly get out of bed. It is your decision to decline if the customer is being unreasonable, if the workload is too much or if you just can’t see value about doing something.
2. Decide how you allocate your time
This is slightly similar to the first point, but it’s more about being able to dictate fully when you work and what you work on. If you want to work a 40 hour week, perhaps you prefer to do it in the evenings or on the weekends. Or maybe you find it easier to work outside the office, in a cafe, while travelling or on the beach. While you might not be able to get away from certain tasks which you understand are valuable to the company, you might be able to focus more on areas which suit your interest without being considered to have dropped the ball. Perhaps on one week you like to engage more with customers, and the week after you want to just hide in your home office. You know you are producing value, and that’s all that matters.
3. Speed of growing income
The thing about a paycheck is that it seldom grows exponentially over time – that’s the beauty of just plain work, you do your time and you know exactly what you get for it. Business often starts slow or in the red, and then should be able to accelerate over time, whereby at least equity grows even if your take home income doesn’t. Some people end up spending so much mental space working with 1. and 2. that they just ignore the income aspect. Seriously, there are times when a lot of business owners are better off taking jobs. If you are going to do this, you should make a strong commitment to build income over time, and if it doesn’t work out – consider firing yourself or selling the business, and consider going back to work.
These are what I would strongly consider before embarking on any business or startup founder journey. If you don’t make these conscious decisions upfront, there is a possibility it is not a good idea in the long term. Unfortunately some people are so far in to it that it’s too late for anything else. Going in with your eyes open and keeping yourself accountable for these should be good benchmarks moving forward. Seriously, there is nothing wrong with taking a job.